Agartala: The Tripura Police have arrested the former panchayat secretary of Srinathpur village for allegedly embezzling Rs 37 lakhs of government funds.
Panchayat secretary Yamir Ali was arrested on Friday after an extensive investigation initiated by the Gaurnagar Block Development Officer (BDO), Rameshwar Chakraborty.
“The incident unfolded in the fiscal years of 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 when Ali, serving as the panchayat secretary, purportedly siphoned off the funds meant for the pelassetting of thirteen bamboos and installing 20 deep tubewells in the Srinathpur village panchayat area under Kailashahar in Unakoti district,” said Chakraborty.
The irregularities were brought to light during a departmental audit, prompting Chakraborty to file a formal complaint with the Irani police station on October 29 last year. Following the complaint, Ali was dismissed from his position.
The police said that Ali managed to evade the authorities for nearly a year before being apprehended from the poultry market under Kailashahar Police Station on Friday.
He was brought to the Irani Police Station for preliminary questioning before being produced in the Kailashahar court.